Western pulls off upset, stuns Centennial in OT

Western was desperate.

The Warriors had thrown everything they had at Centennial in the first round of the Sunset Region boys soccer playoffs at Bettye Wilson Park on Tuesday, and neither team seemed to budge.

Defensive efforts by goalkeepers Eduardo Guzman of Western and the Bulldogs' Julien Mihy kept things tight at 0-0 through regulation.

But just a minute into overtime, Eduardo Hernandez struck for the Warriors.

Hernandez needed only one touch to help Western (10-7-1) to an upset victory of Northwest League champion Bulldogs (17-1-1), 1-0.

"It was desperation," Hernandez said of his late, match-winning strike. "We needed a goal to win, to make it to the next round and make history. Western has never won the title, but this could be the first year winning."

Midfielder Felipe Medina raced down the sideline before crossing the ball to Hernandez, waiting in the middle of the field.

When a Centennial defender lunged for a missed header, Hernandez shot the ball past a sprawling Mihy to advance the unlikely Warriors into the second round.

"We've had some tough times, little mistakes that cost us first place (in league play)," said Western coach Jorge Cobian, whose team will meet Arbor View in a semifinal Thursday. "But now it's a whole different thing. ... I'm speechless."

Guzman made four saves to get the shutout. Mihy finished with five saves.

• Bishop Gorman 2, Cimarron-Memorial 1 -- Connor Zanoni scored on a controversial penalty kick goal in the second half, and the Gaels (18-0-1) advanced into a semifinal matchup with Palo Verde.

Corey Ackley scored early for the Spartans (7-8-4), but Gorman answered quickly as Austin Cain tied the score one minute later.

• Palo Verde 4, Bonanza 0 -- Alex Shackley scored two goals as the Panthers (15-2-1) cruised past Bonanza (9-5-4).

Max Amster and Shane Panther also scored for Palo Verde.

Colton McCann made eight saves to get the shutout, including a diving grab in the 57th minute to preserve a 1-0 lead.

• Arbor View 3, Clark 1 -- Dakota Karas, Michael Snook and Charles Flood each had one goal as Arbor View (10-4-5) downed Clark (13-4-2).

Karas had two assists for the Aggies.

Juan Regalado had the Chargers' goal.

SUNRISE REGION

It's not easy for a soccer team to quietly go 16-1-4.

Yet, that's exactly what Green Valley's boys have done this year, though now the Gators are starting to make some noise -- or at least make people believe they're every bit as good as their record.

The latest example came Tuesday, when Green Valley held off Eldorado for a 3-2 win in the Sunrise Region quarterfinals at Bettye Wilson Park.

"There really wasn't a lot of talk about us all year," said Green Valley coach Roy Snyder, whose team will meet Las Vegas in a regional semifinal Thursday. "People take our league for granted."

Kyle Porterfield scored two goals and had an assist, and the Gators battled back after allowing a goal in the first minute of the game to take control.

Green Valley controlled the play for much of the game, but needed a tiebreaking goal from Tim Shue with 20 minutes remaining to take the lead.

"If you look at our season, we played a lot of close games," said Snyder, whose team is 9-1 in games decided by one goal.

Porterfield scored his goals in the first half.

But Eldorado (9-4-4), which saw its early lead on Oscar Fuentes' header erased, rallied to tie the match early in the second half on a goal by Ruben Duran.

• Las Vegas 3, Silverado 2 -- Joaquin Rivas' penalty-kick goal midway through the second half was the difference-maker as the defending state champion Wildcats (13-4) held off Silverado.

Justin Johnson and Ivan Chamorro scored first-half goals for Las Vegas.

The Skyhawks (6-7-4) capitalized on Las Vegas mistakes to get goals from Chase Leaders and Jamie Ibarra.

• Tech 1, Chaparral 0 -- Tino Carranza's goal on a free kick from 40 yards with two minutes left touched off a huge celebration for the Roadrunners (12-3-2).

"It's the first time we've won a playoff game," Tech coach Josh Jones said. "It's a big monkey off our back."

Abdel Rodriguez made six saves to get the shutout for Tech, which will meet Valley in a semifinal Thursday.

Chaparral finished 8-5-4.

• Valley 3, Coronado 0 -- Joey Lopez scored twice in the first half, and goalkeeper Pedro Arias and the Vikings' defense turned away Coronado (7-5-5).

Alan Arce added a second-half goal for Valley (10-4-5).